Are Mapbox And OpenStreetMap's Personalised Maps The Future Of Cartography?

People are creating their own maps and databases in a movement called open-source mapping, as Sarah Shearman discovers.

The magical Marauder's Map that can reveal people's locations, imagined by JK Rowling in her Harry Potter novels, is fast becoming reality as cartography undergoes radical changes that are altering people's sense of time and place. The explosion in smartphones means Google Maps, which comes pre-installed on Android devices (and is favoured by many Apple iOS users), has nearly replaced the trusty Ordnance Survey as the go-to map.

People are now glued to the screen in the palm of their hand, guided around their urban environment by a GPS cursor. And with individuals increasingly using these devices to share their locations, a new social layer is forming over maps.